Laois driving life centre faces permanent closure claims TD

The Laois walk-in driving licence public office in Portaloise will not reopen a TD has claimed.

Michael McNamara, Clare TD, says that the Minister of State for Transport Hildegarde Naughten has confirmed that the temporary Covid-19 downgrading of all National Driving Licence Service (NDLS) offices across the State, including the local office in Portlaoise, has now been made permanent.

“The walk-in service previously available was originally discontinued to ensure social distancing and compliance with occupational and public health requirements,” she told Independent in the Dáil on Thursday evening, February 17.

“The current NDLS contract, which was put in place with the front office service provider in 2021, no longer offers a walk-in service.”

A statement from Dep McNamara said the Minister also outlined that an online service is available for all application types but stated that a “verified MyGovlD account, which requires a public services card (PSC), is needed” to avail of the online service.

Dep McNamara took issue with this.

“This is despite a Data Protection Commission investigation into the legality of the Public Services Card which found that there was no lawful basis for a person to be told they needed the card for anything other than accessing social welfare or benefits,” Deputy McNamara explained.

Deputy McNamara raised the issue of difficulties encountered by his constituents in availing of the NDLS service and explained to the Minister that not everybody was able to go online. He pointed out that government TDs were rightly critical of banks moving their services online because of the effect it had on various sectors, especially the elderly, and here was a government agency doing exactly the same thing.